In most oil and gas wells, steel casing is run through the productive zone as a conduit to keep the formation from breaking down and falling into the well bore. In order to produce oil and/or gas from the well, the casing must be perforated so the producing fluid can enter the well bore and be extracted. The most common technique for perforating a well casing is to use explosives and blow holes in the casing at predetermined intervals. However, it is desirable to be able to perforate a well casing in a more controlled and reliable manner.
It is also desirable to provide a reliable and repeatable method of fracturing formations to enable the production of oil and gas once the well casing has been perforated. To accomplish this, it is desirable to provide a packer apparatus that enables sections of perforated well casings to be reliably isolated and sealed to enable hydraulic fracturing to take place.